Council Of Indian Nations

'Why Treaties Matter' exhibition opening Aug. 3

(SAINT PAUL, Minn., June 17) – “Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations” is a new traveling exhibition that will explore the Native nations in Minnesota and their history of treaty making with the United States. The grand opening will be Aug. 3 at the White Earth Tribal Headquarters on the White Earth Reservation (35500 Eagle View Road, Ogema), where it will be on view through Aug. 31. Following its close at the White Earth Tribal Headquarters, the exhibition will begin a statewide tour through 2012 to reservations and other venues under the auspices of the Minnesota Humanities Center and its partner, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. In August 2010, a resolution creating a unique partnership of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. was approved unanimously by the tribes residing in Minnesota and made it possible for the exhibition to be developed as an educational tool for Minnesota audiences. This exhibit reveals how Dakota and Ojibwe treaties with the U.S. government affected the lands and lifeways of the Indigenous peoples of the place we now call Minnesota, and explains why these binding agreements between nations still matter today. It is meant to share important cultural information with all Minnesotans, that they may better understand the true circumstances surrounding Minnesota land, its use, and even the treatment of the land’s Indigenous peoples today. "Treaties are agreements between self-governing, or sovereign, nations," says Kevin Leecy, chairman of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and chairman of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. “Native Nations existed long before the formation of the United States. European powers recognized the sovereign status of Native Nations when they made treaties with us, as did the United States. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution recognizes Indian Tribes as distinct sovereign entities on par with foreign nations." “In order to create the vibrant Minnesota of the future we need to understand the importance of the agreements—the treaties—between the sovereign Indian nations and the United States,” says Minnesota Humanities Center President David O’Fallon. “Understanding these treaties is important now—it affects how we live—and will shape the future.

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About / Mission 2/2 : … The Indian Law Resource Center seeks to overcome the grave problems that threaten Native peoples by advancing the rule of law, by establishing national and international legal standards that preserve their human rights and dignity, and by challenging the governments of the world to accord justice and equality before the law to all indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The Indian Law Resource Center is a non-profit law and advocacy organization established and directed by American Indians. We provide legal assistance to Indian and Alaska Native nations who are working to protect their lands, resources, human rights, environment and cultural heritage. Our principal goal is the preservation and well-being of Indian and other Native nations and tribes.

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Congressional Record

John D. Green, Tribal Chairman, Elk Valley Rancheria Tribal Council. Attested: Brenda Green, Council Secretary. RESOLUTION NO. 58-96 Haskell Indian Nations ...

The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant: November 1, 1870-May 31, 1871

... 1870, 1 proceeded to the capital of the Creek Nation, in the Indian Territory, to attend the session of the General Council of Indian Nations and tribes ...

Pennsylvania archives

Enow all men by these Presents, that We, CanasatOgo, Satagan- achly, Kanalsbyiacayon and Canechwadeeron Sachems or Chiefs of the Indian Nations, ...

Congressional edition

... involves the question : Hare the Indian nations and tribes of the Indian ... The "Indian council" referred to above is provided for by article 8 of the ...

The history of the five Indian nations, depending on the Province of New-York in America

He said the chief Sachem of the Onondagas, who was entrusted (as their Speaker) by the Five Nations with their general Affairs, by the general Council of ...